The Angel Reese Versus Caitlin Clark Controversy And Our Divided Country

In recent years, it has become apparent that our country is deeply polarized and our people increasingly judgmental. Political and social issues have created deep divisions among citizens, and civil discourse, once a hallmark of democracy, is a thing of the past. As the comedian Dave Chapelle says “nuance is a lost art”.

Never has this been more apparent than in the series of events following the women’s basketball NCAA Championship game where LSU defeated Iowa in the most watched game in the history of women’s basketball, averaging nearly 10 million viewers. Near the end of the game a triumphant LSU standout Angel Reese followed around and taunted NCAA player of the year, Caitlin Clark, the star of the losing Iowa team.

This ignited a firestorm of controversy in the media and showcases how deeply divided we are as a nation. It also shows we have lost touch with how to express differences in opinion in a manner that opens the door for respectful and productive communication. The irony is that this was probably great for women’s basketball because it has kept the conversation in the national spotlight. Moreover, both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have benefited from the controversy. Not only have their social media platforms expanded but they are more influential and have increasingly become household names.

However, let’s focus on the more disturbing part. We have forgotten how to communicate effectively with each other and instead begin each conversation in attack mode which oftentimes becomes quite personal, dividing us across race and gender.

Social media has also played a significant role in promoting this polarization. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook have made it easy for people to self-select into echo chambers where they only see content that reinforces their existing beliefs. This has created a situation where people on opposite sides of an issue are not only disagreeing, but often not even hearing each other’s perspectives.

As a result of these factors, civil discourse has become a lost art in our country. Instead of engaging in respectful dialogue, many people resort to name-calling, demonization, and even violence to make their points. People are quick to judge others based on their political beliefs or their stance on a particular issue, often without taking the time to understand where they are coming from.

All of this played out in the Clark versus Reese controversy where certain pundits angrily condemned Reese for her actions with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy calling her a “classless piece of shit” and commentator Keith Olbermann calling her a “fucking idiot” before apologizing the next day.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN said the criticism of Reese was racially motivated and Reese herself implied the same thing. He said Reese had just
just
done exactly what Caitlin Clark had done the week before. Others cried out that criticism of Reese was anchored in gender bias. This back and forth touched off a firestorm of similarly vicious attacks on social media and illustrates the problem we are facing and where we have gone wrong. Let’s bring us back to what could have been a very productive and interesting discussion.

Taunting has always been a part of sports. It has come in various forms. One form has been designed to gain an advantage during competition. Larry Bird was a notorious trash talker. He did it to break down his opponent’s confidence and gain a competitive edge. Michael Jordan, the greatest and most feared player of all time, did not say much on the court and let his actions do the talking. Some practiced taunting and others rejected it as a tactic.

Another form of taunting was perfected by the most beloved athlete of all time, Muhammad Ali, who was history’s most prolific and entertaining trash talker. His method was to intimidate his opponent before the competition. He became heavyweight champion with his upset of Sonny Liston. In his pre-fight antics he called Liston “The big ugly bear” and wrote poems about how he would launch Liston into space. Many remember Ali’s antics when he taunted George Foreman prior to beating him in the “Rumble in the Jungle”.

Taunting in basketball has most notably been anchored in the playground, where the play is often unsupervised (no referees) and heated arguments regularly break out between competitors, often leading to trash talking. In organized basketball, most coaches have discouraged the practice of taunting as unsportsmanlike or for fear of it backfiring by motivating the other team but it has clearly been a part of the game.

Then there is the issue of how to conduct yourself following the competition. This is where the essence of sportsmanship kicks in. We have been taught to compete hard and then following the competition treat your opponent with respect. Hence, came the ceremonial handshake following games where the winning and losing teams come together to show respect for each other.

The subtlety of this comes into play at the end of games when one team is clearly victorious and the other has been vanquished. There are various gestures that symbolize victory and some more offensive than others. There’s the “sleeping gesture” made famous by Stephen Curry which has generally been viewed as endearing while the cutthroat gesture used by some players in the past was frowned upon and ultimately forbidden because it was a symbol of violence.

Here is the way an intelligent conversation should have taken place between those disagreeing about whether Angel Reese’s conduct should be subject to criticism:

Angel supporter: “There is nothing wrong with what Angel did because this is just an athlete expressing herself in a way consistent with her cultural upbringing and it’s entertaining. She used the same “you can’t see me” gesture that Caitlin Clark used the week before.

Angel critic: “This was not good sportsmanship. The game was basically over and LSU had the game won and Angel followed Caitlin around the court taunting her. When Caitlin made her gesture it was during the heat of competition with Iowa actually behind in the game and designed to fire up her team rather than demean any player after she had beaten her. The circumstances, timing and intent was clearly different.

Angel supporter: “I don’t think Angel should be criticized for what she did and it is a cool part of the game. Athletes should be able to express themselves.”

Angel critic: “I don’t think we should teach our kids to act like this because it shows disrespect to others after you have beaten them in competition. Once you have won, you should be gracious.”

It would have been nice to have a diplomatic and emotionally intelligent discussion around this topic of what does good sportsmanship should look like in sports today. Rather, the media is flooded with name calling on one side and accusations of racism and sexism on the other. As Dave Chapelle, says we have lost the art of nuance and subtle discourse.